Berlusconi, comic blow Italy poll wide open

Critics say his policies are vague and impractical, and hardly anything is known about the Five-Star candidates, whom Grillo keeps out of the limelight and under iron control.

A bloc of more than 100 Five-Star members of parliament, or a sixth of the lower chamber, could be deeply disruptive and further delay reforms.

“The Five-Star Movement is providing an outlet for rage and frustration. The traditional parties are incapable of indicating any other course,” author Beppe Severgnini said in a front-page editorial in the Corriere della Sera daily on Thursday.